Automatic sandwich grill



w. s. FREDENHAGEN r-:rAL 2,555,174

AUTOMATIC SANDWICH GRILL Aug. 21, 1951 Filed April 15 1947 2Sheets-Sheet l Allg 21, 1951 w. s. FREDEN'HAGEN Erm. 2,565,174

AUTOMATIC SANDWICH GRILL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April l5 194'? PatentedAug. 21, 1951 4UNITE-D 2,565,174 v AUTOMATIC SANDWIQHGRILL Walter S.Fredenhagen and MarkgS. Schmidt, Naperville, "111.

Application April V15, 1947, :Serial Np.'7.41,596

(CLSB- 386) 7 Claims.

zllpvthe productionof such popular sandwiches.

In an establishment for dispensing sandwiches .fof the type employing acooked or grilled ller, lit has beencustomary to have an -attendantplace 4the sandwich iiller material on a grill and watch rit vcarefullyto see that it is properly cooked. Usually thehun halves or bread whichgo to complete kthe sandwich are heated for a short time justpriortocompletion of the cooking of lthe 4filler material. `When thecustomary method referred to above is employed it is apparent that .sin.anestablishmentwhere a very large sale of jsuch sandwichesoccurs ,alarge number of atl .tendants and grills are required. Furthermore, manyof the illermaterials are over cooked and ,others are grilledinsufficiently by virtue of the y.human `element involved. In addition,the bun Yhalves or slices of bread, `instead of being merely heated areoften burned, scorched, or toasted in ,an undesirable manner. YIt wouldbe desirable to provide a continuously operable high produc- ;tionmachine for` grillingsandwich ller material .and heating the bread orbun halves whereby it `-ispossible to heat such bread or bun halves inv.exactly the same manner for every sandwich and `to `grill theyiillermaterial to the same extent .whereby to produce a uniform product.vAutotmatic sandwich` grillers have been provided here- ,tofore eithervery expensive and diicult to clean or pro- However, these arrangementshave been .vided relatively unsatisfactory operation.

Accordingly it is anI object-,of ,the present in- ;vention to `provideanew Aand improved continuiously, operating high. production automaticsandlwich grill -whereby the `elements for kmaking a ,sandwich can beinserted .at oneend and the `completely cookedV sandwich filler andother sandwich componentscanbe removed from the other ,end without anyvattention whatsoever.

[Itis anotherobject of thepresent invention to provide an automaticsandwichgrill in which the `completed sandwich components are delivered.-simultaneously.

Itis, another object of the. present invention to Vv,ofcooking fumes.and vapors.

.Astill further object of the present invention isfto provide anautomaticsandwichgrill of the 120, ,9.16am land 4Simple .t0 Operate .andymaintain Further objects and advantages ofthe presentdescriptionproceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize theinvention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexedto and forminga partl of this specication.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference may be hadto the accompanying drawingsin which:

Fig. l is anelevational view of an automatic sandwich grill embodyingthe present invention with various portions vthereof broken away to moreclearly indicate the elements thereof;

Fig. 2 is an end view withportions of the housing broken away taken-online 2-2 of Fig. l assuming that Fig. 1 illustrates a complete device,and

Fig. 3 is an end .view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1 assuming againthatFig. ldiscloses a complete structure.

Referring now to the drawings there is illustrated the automaticsandwich grill of the present invention `generally designated at Illwhich comprises a rectangular frame II for supporting sheet metalwalls.`such `as thefront wall I2 and end walls I3 and I4,so as to dene asubstantially .completely enclosed housing which as will be- .as to bemountable on a counter or in the window of a sandwich dispensingestablishment. To give an idea of the size, anautomatic sandwich grillbuilt in accordance with the vpresent invention had an overall lengthvof the order of four feet, an overall height of between two and two andVone-,half feet, and aldepth of less than two feet.

It is obvious that an automatic Sandwich grill of such a size'isreadilyadapted for counter and other similar mounting and in view of thepleasing appearance which it presents it is especially adaptable formounting in a show windowwhere customers and others may observe itsoperation.

For the purpose of supporting the automatic sections of the sandwichgrill IIJ of the present inventionthere is provided va suitablesupporting frame I5 disposed within the frame II and of preferably ofstainless steel. such as the bun bottoms 29 and the sandwich llerSubstantially smaller dimensions as is clearly disclosed in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings. Suitably supported from the frame I5, preferably aboutmidway between the top and bottom thereof is an elongated heating unitor plate generally designated at I6 which extends from the feed orintake end of the machine designated at I1 to the outlet of the machinegenerally designated at I8. This heating unit I6 may comprise anysuitable heating unit such as a gas fired unit, or, as illustrated inthe drawings an electric heating grill which is supplied with electricalenergy through a conductor I9 leading to a suitable terminal box 2l.Preferably the heating plate or grill I6 is adapted to be energized froma conventional source of 110 volt alternating current power source sincethat is most commonly available. It should be understood, however, thatthe particular construction of the heating unit I6 forms no part of thepresent invention and the only requirement with respect thereto is thatit extends for a substantial distance between the inlet end and theoutlet end I8 of the automatic sandwich grill IU.

To support matter to be grilled or heated by the heating unit I6 thereis provided an endless chain conveyor 22 which is drivingly supported bysuitable sprocket wheels such as 23 mounted for rotation with a pair ofspaced parallel shafts 24 and 25 which shafts are suitably journalled inthe frame I5. As illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings the conveyor 22is substantially longer than the frame II and a portion 22 thereofextends outside the feed or input end I1 of the sandwich grill III.Actually the shaft 24 is journalled in a frame portion 26 which is anextension of the frame I5. A suitable opening Illa in the wall I4 isprovided for the conveyor 22 which conveyor is provided with suitablemeans for supporting matter to be cooked, grilled, or heated. Suchsuitable means could comprise stainless steel rods or, as illustrated, aplurality of plates 28 formed of relatively thin material and Suitablematerial material 30 which latter might comprise a hamburger patty, apiece of cheese, a slice of tomato, or the like, are illustrated asbeing disposed on some of the plates 28. For the purpose of causing theupper flight of the conveyor 22 which is most closely adjacent to theheating unit I6 to move in a horizontal plane substantially parallel tothe heating unit I6 from the input end I1 to the output end I8 suitabledriving means to be described hereinafter are provided. The breadmaterial such as the lower bun halves 29 and the sandwich fillermaterial which might be a hamburger patty positioned on the lower bunhalf as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings can readily be loaded onthe plates 28 of the portion 22' of the conveyor 22 which extendsoutside the frame II. It will be understood that the hamburger patties,for example, or whatever filler material is to be cooked is formed ofstandard dimensions so that in passing through the housing uniformcooking thereof occurs by virtue of the radiant heat received directlyfrom the heating unit I6. By controlling the speed of the conveyor orthe position of the heating unit I6 relative to the conveyor 22operation of the sandwich grill I can be obtained to produce uniformlyand satisfactorily cooked sandwich fillers with the lower bun halves orother bread material which might be employed heated but not toasted.

In order to complete the sandwiches the upper bun halves or the otherbread material designated, for example, at 3| in Fig. 1 of the draw*ings is adapted to move on an endless conveyor such a chain conveyor 32arranged above the heating unit I6 so that the bun tops 3| are adaptedto move in a plane parallel with the heating unit I6. The conveyor 32 isalso adapted to be mounted on suitable sprockets not shown supported byshafts 33 and 34. Suitable supporting means for the bun tops 3| such asthe plates 35 similar to the plates 28 described in connection with theconveyor 22 may be provided. The conveyor 32 is entirely disposed withinthe housing supported by the frame I5. Bread materials such as bun tops3| are supplied to the end of the conveyor 32 adjacent the intake Il ofthe grill I0 as by a suitable chute such as is indicated at 31. Thebread material such as the bun tops 3| should be heated but not toastedin their movement through the machine, and the position of the uppernight of the conveyor 32 relative to the heating unit I6 will determinethe proper heating thereof.

For the purposes of simultaneously supplying all the components of asandwich at the output side I8 of the machine lil the conveyors 22 and32 preferably move along at the same speed with the bun bottoms and llerbeing deposited through an opening |3a in the wall I3 on a slightlyinclined chute 39 and the bun tops being dropped through an opening |3bin the wall I3 on a similar chute 46 whereby an attendant can assemblethe sandwich on a plate to be served to a customer. In order to causethe conveyors 22 and 32 to move the material to be heated or cooked atthe same speeds relative to the heating unit I6, the shaft 33 isprovided with a suitable sprocket 4I, and the shaft 25 is provided witha suitable sprocket 42 which sprockets are interconnected by a chain 43.A suitable chain tightener such as 44 may be provided if desired. Withthis arrangement it is apparent that if any one of the conveyors such as22 or 32 is driven by suitable motive means, the other conveyor willalso be driven at the same speed.

In order to cause the conveyors 22 and 32 to move the food to be heatedor cooked through the oven portion of the sandwich grill I0 there isprovided a suitable motive means such, for example, as an electric motor45 which is illlustrated as being belt connected to a suitable reductiongear mechanism such as 46, the belt connection between the motor 45 andthe gear reduction mechanism 46 being illustrated at 4l. If desired, thegear reduction mechanism 46 may be 'provided with speed control meanswhereby the speed of movement of the conveyors 22 and 32 may be variablycontrolled. The reduction gear mechanism 46 includes a sprocket 48 whichis drivingly connected with a sprocket 49 connected to the shaft 34 bymeans of a chain 5|). With this arrangement the motor 45 is adapted todrive the conveyors 22 and 32 in the manner described above, and in theevent that a speed change mechanism is included in the reduction gearunit 46 the speed of the conveyors 22 and 32 may be controlled at will.

It is apparent that during the cooking and heating operation cookingfumes from the sandwich ller will be given olf as well as vapor from thebread materials such as the bun portions. It is generally undesirablefor such fumes and vapors to escape in the food dispensing establishment employing the sandwich grill ||J of the present invention. Inaccordance with the present invention therefore there is provided asuitable exhaust fan generally indicated at 52 Which lis:illustrated'as' being directly connctedto the driving Vmotor' 45.Fumes' and -vapor from the spacei?, adjacent the output end i8`of-the-sand= wich grill I0 are adapted'to besucked into the fan Ainletas is clearly indicated by the arrows in *Figs 1 andr2 of the drawings.A suitable conld-uit such asll `may be connected to the exhaust "of Ythefan S2 to conduct ythe fumes and vapor -within the housing supported bythe frame Il 'sofas to provide a very pleasing appearance. The frame I5as is best illustrated in Figs. 1 and .2

Jprovides a nsuitable support forithe motor 5, the

fan `52, and the reduction gear unit it.

It has been found that for a `sandwich filler such as hamburger pattiesa five-minutecooking interval is desirable. The machine is adjustedtherefore so thatthe speed of the cone veyors El and 3,3 will providethe live-minute cooking interval. During normal use oi the grill ,a,single attendant can readily operateit by inserting the sandwichcomponents at the entrance portion Il thereof rand assembling thesandwiches at the outlet I3. During heavy sales periods it is sometimesdesirable to employ two i attendants, Aone tocontinually' load themachine and the other attendant to assemble the sandwich parts orcomponents as vthey emerge lfrom the grill onto the chutes-3Q andf'fiil.Thesecond attendant who assembles the sandwich compon'entsisprobablynotrequired inmost cases since `the waiter or waitress servingthe customers can assemble the sandwiches as required with a minimum ofeiort.

In view of the detailed description that has been included above, theoperation of the automatic sandwi'c'hgrill:liloftthe-present inventionwill be apparent to those skilled the art. It will also be apparent thatan improved sandwich grill is provided in which a single heating unit isadapted to heat the various sandwich components which move along on twoconveyors, one on either side of the heating unit. With the presentinvention a uniformly cooked product can be obtained at all times with aminimum of handling and at greatly reduced labor. In addition, thesandwiches are automatically produced at high speed properly cooking theller material Without toasting or burning the other components of thesandwich but merely heating the same.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of thepresent invention it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and modifications may be made without departing from thepresent invention and it is therefore aimed in the appended claims tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the present invention.

We claim:

l. An automatic sandwich grill comprising a housing, a single elongatedlongitudinally extending heating unit disposed in said housing, a rstendless chain conveyor disposed in said housing on one side of saidheating unit at one level, a second endless chain conveyor disposed onthe other side of said heating unit at another level, means forsupporting sandwich components such as bun halves on said first conveyorfor heating by said heating unit, means for supporting sandwichcomponents such as bun halves and uncooked sandwich filler on saidsecond conveyor,means`for` simultaneously drivings'aid con# veyors sosaid sandwichcomponets move adjacent both 'sides of said single heatingunit for cooking or grilling said ller and heating said bun -halvesduring their movement relative to said-heating unit, means for receivingsaid sand'- `wich componentsatithevends-of said conveyors,

an exhaust fan for exhausting cooking fumes and vapors from saidhousing', and means for operatively relating saiddrivinff means andsaidexhaust fan.

2. An automatic sandwich .grill comprising -a housing, a singleelongated longitudinally extendingheating unit disposed Vin saidhousinga rst endless chain conveyor disposedabove said heating unit withat `least the .upper :flightrof said conveyor substantially parallel tosaid heat- .ing unit, a second endless chain .conveyor disposed vbelowsaid heating unit with at least'the upper iiight of said second conveyorsubstantially parallel to heatingunit, meansfor supporting sandwichcomponents on ihe upper 'flight of said rst conveyor, means forsupporting sandwich components on the upper flight of said secondconveyor, and means for simultaneously driving said conveyors so saidupper flights move in the same direction along said heating unit wherebyall of said sandwich components are treated in a predetermined manner intheirmovementadjacent lsaid single heating unit.

An automatic -sandwich grill comprising `a housing, a single elongatedlongitudinally extending heating unit disposed in said housing, a rstendless chain conveyor disposed in said housing above said heating unitand extendingiparallel with the longitudinal axis of said unit, a secondendless chain conveyor disposed below said-heating unit and disposed inparallel-relationship with respect to said rst-conveyor,means forsupporting sandwichcomponents such as bun halves on said nrst conveyorfor heating by said heating unit, means for supporting sandwichcomponents such as bun halves rand superposed sandwich filler materialon said second conveyor, means for simultaneously driving said conveyorsso said sandwich components on both of said conveyors move in the samedirection through said housing adjacent both sides of said singleheating unit for cooking or grilling said ller material and heating saidbun halves during their movement relative to said heating unit, andmeans for receiving said sandwich components at the ends of saidconveyors.

4. An automatic sandwich grill comprising a housing, a single elongatedlongitudinally extending heating unit disposed in said housing, a pairof endless chain conveyors disposed in said housing one above and onebelow said single heating unit, means for supporting sandwich componentson said conveyors for heating by said heating unit, means forsimultaneously driving said conveyors in the same direction through saidhousing so that said sandwich components move adjacent both sides ofsaid single heating unit for predetermined treatment thereof, one end ofone of said conveyors extending outside said housing whereby saidsandwich components may readily be placed on said rst mentioned means,means for receiving said sandwich components at the other end of saidone conveyor and the corresponding end of said other conveyor, and fanmeans for exhausting cooking fumes and vapors from said housing.

5. An automatic sandwich grill comprising a housing, a single elongatedlongitudinally extending heating unit disposed in said housing, a pairof endless chain conveyors disposed in said housing one above and onebelow said single heating unit, means including individual plates fastened to said conveyors for supporting sandwich components thereon forheating by said heating unit, means for simultaneously driving saidconveyors in the same direction through said housing so that saidsandwich components move adjacent both sides of said single heating unitfor predetermined treatment thereof, one end of one of said conveyorsextending outside said housing whereby said sandwich components mayreadily be placed on said plates, means for receiving said sandwichcomponents at the other end of said one conveyor and the correspondingend of said other conveyor, an exhaust fan for exhausting cooking fumesand vapors from said housing, and means for operatively relating saiddriving means and said exhaust fan.

6. An automatic sandwich grill comprisingy a housing, a single elongatedlongitudinally extending heating unit disposed in said housing, a rstendless chain conveyor disposed above said heating unit with at leastthe upper flight of said conveyor substantially parallel to said heatingunit, a second endless chain conveyor disposed below said heating unitwith at least the upper ight of said second conveyor substantiallyparallel to said heating unit, means for supporting sandwich componentson the upper ight of said rst conveyor, means for supporting sandwichcomponents on the upper ight of said second conveyor, motive means forsimultaneously driving said conveyors so said upper flights move in thesame direction along said heating unit whereby all of said sandwichcomponents are treated in a predetermined manner in their movementadjacent said single heating unit, and fan means connected to saidmotive means for removing cooking fumes from said housing.

7. An automatic sandwich grill comprising a housing, a single elongatedlongitudinally extending heating unit disposed in said housing, a firstendless chain conveyor disposed above said heating unit with at leastthe upper flight of said conveyor substantially parallel to said heatingunit, a second endless chain conveyor disposed below said heating unitwith at least the upper flight of said second conveyor substantiallyparallel to said heating unit, means for supporting sandwich componentssuch as bun tops on the upper ight of said rst conveyor, means forsupporting sandwich components such as stacked bun bottoms and sandwichller material to be grilled on the upper flight of said second conveyor,means for simultaneously driving said conveyors so said upper ights movein the same direction along said heating unit whereby said sandwich llermaterial is grilled and said bun tops and bottoms are heated in theirmovement adjacent said single heating unit.

WALTER S. FREDENHAGEN. MARK S. SCHMIDT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Num er Name Date 1,440,643 Strite Jan. 2, 19231,443,242 Roth Jan. 23, 1923 1,536,538 Stouffer May 5, 1925 1,696,613Shroyer Dec. 25, 1928 2,997,471 Scharsch Nov. 2, 1937 2,112,309Santillan Mar. 29, 1938 2,147,335 DeFaZi Feb. 14, 1939 2,182,229 HamelDec. 5, 1939 2,225,063 Marriott Dec. 17, 1940 2,238,309 Cramer Apr. 15,1941 2,453,385 Rone Nov. 9, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date175,376 Great Britain Feb. 13, 1922

